Aspire To Inspire Before You Expire

How inspiration leads to a winning situation

Summer lotus Dec 17th 4 min read

I was a solo practitioner for more than 30 years. I enjoyed dentistry very much but I reckoned that the day would come when I would have to hand over the reins to younger dentists.

The best thing I did this Covid season is aspiring to inspire people working with me.

Having good, dedicated staff is a rarity and I feel that it is our management of them that will mold them into the kind of colleagues we want around us.

I have engaged a young dentist, just two years post-graduation. I feel very blessed to have someone cheerful, enthusiastic, and humble to learn from me.

I shared whatever techniques that I have found useful as many things are not learned in the University, including management of nervous or difficult patients, communication skills, and thinking outside the box to manage clinical problems.

I can see that she is very happy working in my clinic as everything is well-equipped and we operate on the premise that if we treat each other including patients with respect, communicate well and provide a high quality of care, the days will go smoothly.

I aspire to inspire her to run the business as if it’s her own by sharing patients, encouraging her in challenging cases that are often resolved well. In turn, she has inspired me with any current knowledge whether dentistry or IT or any relevant sharing of knowledge.

I am inspired to keep up to speed with her where necessary. We potentiate each other to do our best each day which often ends so amicably, with happy patients as well.

My existing dental assistant has been with me for almost thirty years too. She is a rare gem, so dedicated to the service of dentistry that she is as good as my right hand as well as my left hand.

A good trainer to boot for my younger dental assistants who are part-time students earning some income. Her good nature has brought about pleasant working relationships and camaraderie.

One part-time dental assistant is a University Student who is studying Biosciences. I attempted to inspire her by being organized with my workflow, having good communication about protocol, and giving praise on jobs well done.

When the workflow is smooth so there is less tension during work. Good communication prevents misunderstandings and hence mistakes. I never rush my staff as a steady transition between patients leads to smooth procedures rendered.

We had many moments of zest and humor as well as she is such a lovely girl with many pleasant manners.

I do not believe in berating anyone about any mistakes as it serves no purpose. Humans are fallible but errors should be minimized. Understanding, explanation, and rectification are adequate to put the episode behind us.

I am so pleased that my dental assistants have a lot of initiative to solve any potential hiccups in running the clinic.

Recently, a mother brought in her 16-year-old daughter and requested that I give her a part-time job so that her time is gainfully used.

I assessed that she seemed a nice girl and immediately accepted when I heard that her daughter is keen on dentistry.

From day one of work, I wanted to find out if she was really keen on dentistry.

I started slowly with some basics such as tooth numbers, terminology, and clinic protocol. I tested her to see if she did her learning and she did. Each day, I expanded her comfort zone to assist me in rendering dental treatment to my patients. I could see that more understanding of her work engages her fully and well.

I treated her as a dental student already enrolled in school. By communicating well, she came to understand material sciences and techniques. She also watched how we handle patients gently.

It’s been a month so far and I asked her if she was still keen on dentistry and she beamed yes! I have managed to inspire her to love dentistry and I believed she would make a good one. I have a position for her when she graduates, I told her.

She would make a very good dental student as she is preparing it way before her time. I warned that she might have to go through some boring lectures as I have imparted much knowledge on a daily basis, I joked. It would certainly be a breeze for her to ace the course given her enthusiasm to work.

Every day is a lovely day. Cheers, smiles, and laughter pervade the clinic. Sounds of please, thank you, see you again rang through the day.

I honestly believed that inspiration is the only way to melt a person’s heart. It takes away any unpleasantness that no amount of chiding would do to make a person perform well.

Treat those we work with, using kindness, helpfulness, gratitude, and understanding. By being the best exemplary person you want others to be, you can inspire anyone.

Aspire to inspire before you expire and you live a very congenial life!